"I want this shank girl locked up now!" Alby ordered waving two sturdy looking boys in Teresa's direction. Sadie and Thomas cried out in protest as the two Gladers stepped forward and grabbed Teresa's arms.
"Alby!" Sadie shouted in frustration her mind still buzzing with fear at the thought of the Maze doors staying open. Teresa was right everything was changing. And for some reason Sadie couldn't shake the feeling that all three of them had triggered it.
"One more word out of you." Alby warned whirling on Sadie. "And I'll send you into the Slammer with her!"
"Fine."
"Sadie!" Newt barked giving her an incredulous look. "We aren't going to lock you up." Sadie shook her head and stepped forward handing her knife over to Alby her eyes never wavering from his steely gaze.
"I came in the shucking Box with her. Why not lock me up? Huh Alby? This isn't our fault. Throwing us in the Slammer won't prove anything except that you're wrong." She challenged a determined light dancing in her eyes. Alby watched her carefully, she could tell he was still angry and bad tempered and a small part of her wondered if it was because of the Changing. What if Alby had gone as crazy as Gally? She tried to shake the thoughts like pesky flies. Alby was their leader, if they couldn't count on him to do the right thing, then they were already dead. Alby held the knife tightly in his hand his face pulled into a pensive frown. The Glader sighed shook his head.
"Fine, I trust you Sadie." Alby said taking Sadie completely off guard. Alby handed her knife back and gave Newt a curt nod. "Take your girlfriend to the Slammer later, I don't want any other Glader getting his ass kicked by a shucking girl. And she probably won't do that with you. Probably. But I want her, Minho, and Thomas to plan some things out before hand." Before Newt could protest the matter Alby raised his hand in warning. "The doors aren't closing Newt. We need to figure this klunk out, and these things have to happen even if we don't like them. Besides they'll probably be safer in the Slammer anyways." He gave Sadie and Thomas one last hard look before stalking off. They all watched Teresa being escorted away in silence Thomas looking positively devastated and as enraged as she left.
"Thanks Sadie. Thanks for making sure she isn't in there alone." Thomas stated giving her a small smile before wandering off leaving only her and Newt alone in the Deadheads. With the new gray and lifeless sky the whole forest was still bathed in a hazy glow but it did nothing to lighten the creepy feel of the woods. Thomas actually likes it here?
"You just had to get yourself thrown in jail." Newt groaned breaking her from her thoughts and running a hand through his blonde hair. "God you're so stubborn." Sadie smiled warmly at him and gave him a playful wink.
"Oh c'mon you know you love it." She teased receiving an overdramatic eye roll from Newt in response. Sadie snickered and retied her knife to her thigh sighing in relief to have her weapon back in place. She'd have to meet up with Minho and Thomas later to plan their next step. She didn't know about them, but she already knew what they had to do next. No more darkness? The Maze doors open all night? We have to spend the night in the Maze… again.
"We should get going." Newt mumbled nodding his head in the direction of Homestead. But before Sadie could reply she felt her vision begin to blur and her knees buckle. No no no. Not again! She pleaded as she stumbled to her knees her eyesight fading fast. The forest around her began to spin like a top Newt's voice echoed like he was yelling at her from the end of a tunnel. The last thing she could feel was her head thud against the forest floor as she fell down the rabbit hole and was swept back into a memory.
"You're Immune Sadie. Do you know what that means?" A man whispered to her. Sadie could register only three things. One, she was young. Much younger than she had been in her other memories; she could only have been around six or seven. Two, the man that was kneeling before her gripping her shoulders tightly was her father. And three, she had no idea what was going on. Sadie shook her head in reply fidgeting slightly in her fathers grasp. "Do you remember what happened to mommy?" He asked his voice cracking.
"Yes daddy." She answered in a small and high-pitched voice. He nodded and began talking some more his voice sad and desperate. But Sadie wasn't really paying attention her mind kept wandering only stopping to pick up on the small details around her. Like the soft shade of green her room was, or how the light filtered in through the window's blinds casting stripes across the wooden floor. Or the fact that her dad was doing something she'd never seen him do before. He was crying.
"Do you understand Sadie? Do you understand why you have to go?"
"What's going on daddy?" Her father let out a small sob and hugged her tightly before breaking away and grasping her small hand. He led her to the bedroom door and swung it open revealing two strange looking men sitting on their living room couch. The men were dressed in bulky hazard suits, their faces completely covered by creepy looking gas masked. Sadie backpedaled suddenly afraid of the strangers but her father tugged her forward until they were standing directly in front of them.
"And you promise she'll be safe?" Her dad asked nervously giving Sadie's small hand a tight squeeze. One of the suited men nodded and reached out with a black-gloved hand grabbing onto Sadie's forearm. The thick rubber dug into her skin as the other man followed suit.
"Dad?" Sadie whispered as the two men stood and started tugging her towards the door. "Dad!" She called out louder this time as her young mind began to process the raging storm of fear she felt. "Let go!" She screeched trying to yank her arms out of the men's grasp. "Daddy!" Sadie kicked and screamed and cried as the scary looking strangers continued to tug her towards the door her father watching in despair the whole time. Sadie managed to tug one arm away and automatically slammed it into one of the stranger's stomach. "Let go!" She screamed hitting the man again and again. But it didn't do much and the man just grabbed her arm again his grip tighter this time.
"I'm sorry Sadie. I'm so sorry."
"Daddy!"
Sadie's eyes snapped open her arms and legs still flailing in terror against their restraints. How could he do that? How could my dad just let them take me? Sadie wanted to scream and punch a wall. Her breaths were coming out too fast, but she couldn't help it. She felt claustrophobic, like a weight was being pressed into her chest and slowly squishing her lungs. She was going to loose it. This memory felt so much worse than the other ones. There was just something about seeing the dad she couldn't remember crying that squeezed her heart, and much to her dismay Sadie realized she was crying as well.
"Sadie!" She continued to squirm trying to wiggle her arms out of their iron holds. She had to get out. She had to get away and find her dad. She had to- "Sadie it's me! It's just me." Sadie stopped her struggling and looked up blinking the tears from her eyes away furiously at the sound of the familiar voice. She opened her eyes and was met with a pair of intense hazel ones.
Newt. It was only Newt.
He had her pinned down. His hands holding her arms against the ground while the rest of his body was sitting securely on her thighs, his own legs anchoring hers to the ground.
"Sadie? Sadie what's wrong, what happened?" Newt asked peering down at her his voice strained and worried. Sadie shuddered violently her breaths still coming out fast and ragged as she tried to make sense of it all. She tried focusing on his eyes trying to loose herself in the light brown and green speckled orbs while the rest of her body attempted to calm down. It took a few minutes but when it finally seemed like she'd calmed down Newt clambered off of her pulling Sadie into a sitting position while he kneeled in front of her. "What happened?" He asked again scooting closer towards her. Sadie glanced up and noticed an angry red mark on his cheek that would no doubt turn into a bruise.
"Did- did I punch you?" She stammered hugging her knees to her chest. Newt nodded giving her a small apologetic smile. "Shit." She groaned burying her face into her arms as sobs began to escape her lips. Why am I crying? Why am I shucking crying? Sadie thought angrily her shoulders shaking and chest heaving.
"Sadie?" Newt sat down next to her and started rubbing small, soothing circles into her back his other hand holding hers tightly. "What did you see?" Sadie shivered. His warm hands released some of the tension in her back and eased away her sobs.
"They took me away from my dad." She whispered trying to search for the salt and pepper haired man with brown eyes in her memory only to come up empty handed.
"What? Who did?" Sadie whipped her head up seething rage quickly adding into the jumble of emotions she felt.
"They did!" She hissed clutching her head angrily.
"The Creators." Newt stated nodding in agreement with her anger. Sadie had almost forgotten, she wasn't the only one that hated the Creators guts, she was just one of the few that could really remember what they've done. "Sadie how can you remember this stuff?"
"I don't know Newt." She pleaded leaning into the comforting feel of his side pressed against hers. "I just know that I want to kill them." Newt nodded again his face as grim and serious as Sadie felt.
"Trust me when I say we all want to Sadie." He whispered his breath tickling her ears. "All of us have been dreamin' of the day we get to have a bloody go at the Creators. But we need to worry about what's happening right now love. Things are goin' bugging mad and we need to figure them out." Sadie sighed loudly she knew he was right. There was no point worrying and plotting out the future when they had their own shit to deal with. "C'mon." He mumbled pulling the both of them to their feet.
"Why am I remembering these things Newt?" She asked wrapping her arms around his torso and resting her cheek against his chest. He hugged her back cradling her in his warm and muscular arms.
"I don't know. The only other people who remember are the guys that got stung by Grievers and went through the Changing." Sadie mulled it over silently trying to piece together the few memories that had resurfaced. I've been stung by a Griever.
"I can't believe I punched you in the face… again." Sadie mumbled in an attempt to change the subject. Thankfully it worked.
"Yeah, it might just be our thing." Newt chuckled pulling away from Sadie and making a show of rubbing his bruised cheek and wincing. "For shuck's sake love, you've sure got one helluva arm." Sadie grinned and tugged on Newt's arm.
"C'mon slinthead we need to get back to Homestead so we can have a meeting before I go to jail again."
"Going to jail twice, punching me, kicking the Med-Jack's butts, I think the Glader's need to make an intervention."
"Oh shut up."
Once they arrived at the Homestead everything erupted into a hurried mess of confusion. Alby and Newt assigned different Keepers and Gladers jobs while Sadie and Thomas tried to help the Builders create small blockades in the Maze doorways. They were too small to do any good, but they just didn't have enough time on their hands or the right supplies. But it seemed that wasn't really Newt and Alby's aim, they were just trying to keep everyone busy, keeping everyone busy was the only thing keeping everyone's panic at bay. Many others were gathering food, supplies, and weapons. Everyone pitching in to turn the Homestead into a fort they could all hold up in for when the Grievers came out. And Sadie knew that the Grievers would indeed come out.
Before it could get too late Minho ushered her, Thomas, Newt, and Alby into one of the upstairs room while everyone else scrambled around outside.
"If- I mean, when we make it to wake-up tomorrow we need to assign groups to study the maps." Minho said starting the meeting off. "While us Runners get ready to spend a few days in the Maze." He finished leaning forward in his chair and looking at everyone that sat in the small circle.
"What the shuck do you mean? Days?" Alby interjected his eyes snapping out of their daze.
"What else could I mean Alby? Days. The Doors ain't closing anymore it's about time we stay out there and see what we're up against." Alby shook his head angrily.
"No way. We're holding down Homestead for now. We can't ask anyone to go out into the Maze Minho. It's suicide, no one would be crazy enough to do it."
"We would." Sadie added in receiving a nod from both Minho and Thomas and even Newt. "And I bet the other Runners and a few Gladers will too." And then the arguments rang out inside the small and cramped room most of them directed towards Alby. After around five minutes of arguing and trying to convince Alby the Glader finally agreed grudgingly.
"Fine. But if we're gonna do this then I gotta do this in my own way." Sadie felt a surge of gratitude towards Alby and silently hoped he was going to start acting like himself again and become the leader they all needed. Her hopes were soon crushed when Alby made his way towards the door.
"Where are you goin'?" Minho asked as all of them watched Alby yank the door open in disbelief.
"I'm goin' out. See yah shucks in the morning." And with that the boy left leaving them all in stunned silence.
"He'll come back right?" Thomas asked voicing everyone's concerns. "He'll come back before we lock down Homestead right?" But Sadie had the sinking feeling that Alby would stay true to his words and they would or would not see him until morning.
"C'mon Sadie we need to get you to the Slammer." Newt finally said anxiously checking his watch.
The Slammer was almost exactly the same from last time. Except there was no longer a chair and only broken pieces left of the old one remained. Teresa was sat huddled against the corner a thick blanket wrapped around her shoulders that Thomas had probably snuck in for her no doubt.
"Sadie what's going on? Where is everyone?" Teresa asked sitting up straighter as more questions tumbled from her mouth. But before Sadie could answer any of them the low moan of a Griever echoed in the distance. It's going to be a long night.